NIH Rare Diseases:41 Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (rrp) is a rare viral disease where tumors (papillomas) grow in the air passages leading from the nose and mouth into the lungs (respiratory tract). although the tumors can grow anywhere in the respiratory tract, their presence in the larynx (voice box) causes the most frequent problems, a condition called laryngeal papillomatosis. the tumors may vary in size and grow very quickly. they often grow back even when removed. rrp is caused by two types of human papillomavirus (hpv), called hpv 6 and hpv 11.
last updated: 11/21/2011